Fender.



F. E. HucmNGs.

FENDER. l APPLICATION FILED DEC.9'| 191|.

I Patented May 30,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

y I /NVE/VTOH A TTOR/VEY F. E. HUTCHINGS..

' FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9. 19H.

Patented May 30, 1916.

' a SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WIM/8856 IN VEN 70H F. HuTcHlNs.

FENDER. APPLICAUON AFILED DEC-9| 1911.

1,185,327, y n Patented May 30,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wim/fases.- F-f- IN TOR THE CLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Co.. wAst-ilh'a'xjnN. D. c

FREDERICK E. HUTCI-IINGS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FENDER.

Application 1ed December 9, 1911.

T0 all whom t may concern Beit known that I, FREDERICK E. HUTGH- INGs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the City of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Fenders, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in fenders or wheel guards designed for use on power driven cars and is equally adaptable to cars driven along predetermined tracks, such as, for instance, electric or cable cars and to dirigible cars such as automobiles, motor trucks, etc.

My invention involves certain improvements in the type of construction, illustrated and claimed in my prior Patent No. 1,018,563, granted February 27, 1912, and more particularly involves certain improvements over the second form illustrated but not claimed specifically in said application, and in which the fender body is normally supported in inoperative or raised position and in which a releasing catch may be operated to permit first the lowering and then the forward movement of the fender to operative position. By the term operative position I mean in a position to operate as a fender, that is, to receive or engage with the body or obstacle in front Aof the vehicle, while by the term inoperative position, I mean in such a position that it will not receive 0r support a body with which the car may come into collision. The fender shown in my prior patent above referred to, is so supported and so held in its retracted position, that when released it will iirst drop to the ground before being advanced. The preferred form which my present invention assumes and which is hereinafter described in detail, has substantially the same downwardly and thence forwardly movement, and its lower edge assumes substantially the same three positions, as are illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the said patent.

One object of my present invention is to more effectively support the body of the fender in its raised position, -so that there is very little if any liability of the fender body being accidentally or inadvertently dropped.

A further object of my invention is to Specification of Letters Patent.

rateateanay so, 191e.

Serial No. 664,819.

starts in motion, so that the fender may then be released by the tripping mechanism.

Other objects and advantagesI of my improved fender will be set forth more fully hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification and in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the different views.

Figure 1 isa side elevation of a front portion of a car and showing in central longitudinalsection one embodiment of my invention certain of the parts being shown in tripped position in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a front view of the car, a portion of the fender body being broken awav; and Figs. 3 to 12 inclusive are details of various parts and on a larger scale than Figs.V 1 and 2. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing the fender retracting drum. Fig. 4 is a vertical a part shown in Fig. `7. Fig. 9 is a side elevation showing the mechanism by which any one of a plurality of hand rails or other trips may each move in any one of the plurality of directions to effect the tripping of the fender body. Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, but showing the parts in position section showing the same parts as are shown i after being operated. Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the fender-locking device in operative position. Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11, but showing the device in inoperae tive position. Fig. 13 is a sectional detail showing the arms of the hand rails mounted on concentric pivots.

The type of construction illustrated and claimed in my prior application and to which the present invention relates, includes a fender body in the form of a curtain, the lower edge of which is normally supported at some little distance above the ground, but is connected to mechanism whereby upon the tripping of the fender, the said lower edge will be lowered substantially vertically to a position in engagement with or closely adjacent to the ground and may then be advanced substantially horizontally.

In my present construction, I employ a fender body 10 in the form of a iiexible curtain. I do not desire to limit myself to any particular form of curtain, as it isevident that the curtain may be formed of canvas, wire netting, pivoted links or any other suitable material. Freferably the lower portion of the curtain is reticulated so as to prevent it from offering any material resistance to the wind and to permit rain or snow to beat through it without collecting on it to any material extent. The upper edge of the curtain is supported on a roller 11, which preferably includes a spring normally tending to wind up the roller. Substantially the same construction might be employed as in the ordinary shade roller and, as such construc- -tion forms no part of my invention, it is not wheel, and the roller is positioned closely ad-y jacent to the wheels, so as to act not only as an ordinary car fender but also as a wheel guard. The lower edge of the curtain is secured to a transversely extending bar 13, which is somewhat -flexible and is comparatively thin at its front edge, so that after the fender body has been dropped and the bar is being advanced, it may slip beneath the person or object which it is desired to pick up,A thus serving as a shoe. This shoe is secured to the front ends of two parallel bars or rods 14 which comprise a supporting frame extending substantially horizontally and lengthwise of the car.

In the forms shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, each bar or rod 14 is formed of two telescoping tube sections 15 and 1G, inclosin a coil spring 17 normally tending to exten the bar. In this form, the front end of one section terminates in apointed member 18, which is secured to the shoe 13, as is shown in Fig. 1, and the rear end of the outer section is pivotally supported upon a transversely extending shaft 19 on the chassis frame. This sha-ft carries a drum 20, around whichis wound a cable 21, one end being secured to the cable and the other end extending lengthwise through the bar 14 to the front or inner section 16. The spring 17, which is within the bar 14, is held between two stops, one on each section, so that when the cable is wound up on the drum, the inner section will be drawn back into the outer section and a spring 17 will be put under compression. Any suitable means may be employed such, for instance, as a crank for rotating the shaft 19 and winding the cable on the drum. For holding the spring under tension, I provide a ratchet wheel 22 on the shaft 19 and pivotally support a dog 23 adjacent thereto. The dog is connected to a counterbalancing weight 24, which normally holds itin operative engagement with the ratchet wheel, but the dog also has a flange in engagement with the bar 14 a short distance in advance of the shaft 19, so that as the forward end of the bar is lowered, the dog 23 will be pulled out of engagement with the ratchet wheel. As the front end of the bar 14 is raised, the weight 24 will return the dog into operative position. In Fig. 4 I have shown the parts in the position which they normally occupy, while in Fig. 5 I have shown the bar lowered and the ratchet wheel and drum free to rotate. The dog does not release the ratchet wheel until the front end of the bar has lowered into engagement with the ground or to a position closely adjacent thereto, so that when the front end of the bar is released by the mechanism hereinafter described, the shoe 13 will first drop to the ground and the spring 17 will then force the shoe 13 forwardly along the ground.

Instead of forming the bar 14 of a plurality of hollow telescoping sections with the spring inside, I may, if desired, employ the alternative construction illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. In this form, instead of having a drum on the shaft 19, I employ a pinion 25, which engages with ratchet teeth 26 on the rear end of the bar 14a. A. spring 27 encircles the shaft 19 and has one end secured to the ratchet wheel 22. rIhe same dog 23 and its counterbalancing weight 24 is employed. As the front end of the bar 14a is dropped, the dog 23 releases the ratchet wheel and the spring 27 causes the shaft 19, the ratchet wheel 22 and the pinion 25 to rotate and advance the bar 14a. The rear end of the bar is preferably supported in a cradle 28 suspended from the shaft 19, so that the ratchet bar will have proper engagement with the pinion, irrespective of any tilting movement of the bar.

Depending from the front portion of the chassis frame and rigid therewith, are hangers 29, the lower ends of which terminate adjacent to and in the rear of the lower edge of the curtain when the latter is in raised or inoperative position. The bars 14 or the bars 14, if the latter be employed, are held against lateral movement by'these hangers, as is shown in Fig. 2. Pivotally secured to each hanger 29 is a hook or dog 30, upon which is normally supported the corresponding bar 14. With the hooks or dogs in the position shown in Fig. 2, the bars 14 cannot drop and cannot move laterally and as the dog 23 holds the ratchet wheel 22 atk this time, the bars 14 cannot move forwardly. Each dog or hook 30 is in the form of an elbow lever and is connected by a link 31 to a lever 32 rigid on a transversely extending rock shaft 33 supported by the hangers 29 intermediate of the upper and lower endsv of the latter. When the rock shaft is oscillated from the position shown in Fig. 9 to the position shown in Fig. 10 by the mechanism hereinafter described, the dogs or hoo-ks 30 will be swung from beneath the bars 14 and the latter will be permitted to drop and the lower edge of the curtain will be shot forward, as hereinbefore described,

In Fig. 1` of the drawing I have shown in dotted lines the positions which certain of the parts take in being tripped. The bar 14 first drops to the position 14', at which time the transversely extending bar 13 at the lower edge of the curtain will strike the ground or the track as shown at 13. The inner member 16 of the bar 14 is then free to move' forward as hereinafter more particularly pointed out and the transverse bar f 13 will slide forward to the position 13 .and the bar 14 will assume the position 14". I may, if desired, employ means for accelerating the downward movement so that it will not be necessary to rely entirely on gravity. One simple means which might be employed for this purpose is a pivoted lever 34 carried by the hanger 29 and having one end bearing downwardly against the bar 14 and the other end pulled upwardly by a spring 35. One special advantage of this specific construction is that it permits the lever 34 to be swung to a vertical position after the bar 14 isdropped, so that the lever will prevent the shoe 13l from being raised to pass over' the person or object which it is desired to pick up in the fender.

The improved fender hereinbefore described may be operated so as to be tripped by the person in control of the car. Preferable it is mounted so as to automatically trip'just before the car reaches a person or object in its path. The specificconstruction illustrated is designed to operate on the same general principle as that disclosed in my prior application previously referred to, but

possesses certain advantages over the priorv construction. Each hanger 29 carries two superposed rock shafts or pivots 36 and 37, and upon the outer ends of the two lower rock shafts or pivots 36 are two forwardly and downwardly extending' arms 38 connected to a lowerv transversely extending hand rail 39. From the two upper pivots or rock shafts 37 are two upwardly and forwardly extending arms 40 connected to an upper transversely extending hand rail 41. The arms 38 and 40 may have rearward extensions beyond the pivots if desired, and these may carry counterbalancing weights 42, as shown particularly in Fig. 1. Each lower pivot 36 carries a tumbler 43 in the form of an elbow lever and each upper pivot carries a tumbler 44 normally in engagement with both ends of the adjacent lower tumbler 43. Pivoted to the hanger 29 directly yabove these tumblers and resting upon the tumbler 44 is a lever 45, whichv is connected by a link 47 to one ofthe links 32 on the rock shaft 33.

As previously stated, the fender may be tripped by the rocking of the shaft 33 to lift the links 31 and withdraw the hooks 30.- The mechanism lastabove described serves to raise these links 31 upon an upward or downward movement of either one of the two hand rails 39 and 41 to the positions in dicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 at 39', 39, 41 .and 41". Normally the parts are disposed substantially as shown in Fig. 9, but if the lower rail 39 be forced downwardly or the upper rail be forced downwardly by contact with another object, the parts'will assume the position shown in Fig. 10. This will trip the fender and permit it to be first dropped and then shot forward, as previ* ously described. In case the lower rail should be raised in passing over an object, or if the upper rail be pushed upwardly and backwardly, the tumblers 43 and 44 will be tilted inthe opposite direction, but they will operate to raise the lever 45 to the same extent and trip. the fender in the same manner. It will be noted that the end of the tumbler away from the pivot of the lever 45 is longer than the end toward the pivot. By forming the parts in this manner, an equal movement of either hand rail in either direction will cause the same upward movement of the lever 45.

It will be noted that the rock shaft 33 extends across the car and is independently connected to both hooks 30 and to both levers 45. Thus, if either lever 45 or either llink 46 be broken or displaced or fails to operate the other lever, the corresponding lever or link will cause the proper movement of the rock shaft 33 and both of the hooks 30 will be withdrawn simultaneously.

In4 order` to prevent the fender from being inadvertently tripped while the car is at rest, I provide a locking mechanism shown particularly in Figs. 1l and 12. This locking mechanism includes a lever 47 pivotally supported above the lever 45 and weighted at its upper end. Two stops 48 and 49 `are provided so as to limit the movement of the lever. I/Vhen the lever is swung to a Substantially vertical position and ,in contact with the stop 49, as shown in Fig. 11, its lower end will engage with the upper side of the lever 45 and prevent the latter from being raised. IVhen the lever 45 cannot rise, it is evident that the fender cannot be tripped. IVhen the lever 47 is swung to the position shown in Fig. 12 and in contact with the stop 48, the lever may be lifted and the fender tripped, as hereinbefore described. The lever is swung into the locking position, that is, the position shown in Fig. ll, manually, or in any other suitable manner, but ,it will-be noted that the upper end of the lever 47 swings baclrwardly in traveling to the unlocked position. Thus, with the fender locked, the starting of the car or the jarring of the car will cause the weight constituting the upper end of the lever 47 to automatically Swing rearwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1l to the position shown in Fig. l2, and thus automatically unlock the fender and permit it to be operated by a movement of either hand rail.

Various changes may be made in the construction and operation of my improved device within the scope of the appended claims and without departing from the spirit of my invention. For instance, instead of having two tumblers 43 and 44 mounted one above the other, I may mount the arms of the'hand rails on concentric pivots, as is shown in Fig. 13. In this figure, the hand rail 38 is mounted on a pivot Vpin 36 and the arm 40 is mounted on a sleeve 37 encircling the pin. Two tumblers 43a and 44a are mounted side by side and both in direct engagement with the lever 45, so that by tilting either arm 38 or 40 in either direction, the lever 45 will be raised. This construction permits of the use of a third or even a fourth hand rail, as there may be a plurality of concentric sleeves.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A fender including depending hangers adapted to be secured to a car body, a roller supported by,said hangers, a curtain wound on said roller, a shoe connected to the free edge of said curtain and normally supported in an elevated position, trip mechanism upon the operation of which said shoe is permlted to drop toward the ground and means for advancing said shoe after the latter has been dropped.

2. A-fender h'av'ing a body portion normally supported in inoperativev position, a plurality of separately mounted hand rails disposed in advance of said fender body and movable independently of each other and means for releasing said fender body upon a movement of any one of said hand rails independent of the other.

3. A fender having a body normally held in inoperative position, two independent forwardly extending arms and connections between said arms and lsaid fender body, whereby the movement of either arm, upwardly or downwardly from a normal position, will release said body and permit it to move to operative position.

4. A fender having a fender body, trip mechanism for normally supporting said fender in inoperative position, a rock shaft for operating said trip mechanism, 'a plurality of hand rails in advance of said fender body and connections between said hand rails and said rock shaft whereby the shaft is oscillated in one direction upon a movement of any one of the hand rails in one of two directions from its normal position.

5. A fender including a fender body, side bars for moving the latter to operative position, the rear ends of said bars being pivotally mounted, drums adjacent said rear ends, ratchet wheels adjacent said rear ends, springs normally tending to advance said fender body, cables wound on said drums for retracting said fender body and dogs in engagement with said ratchet wheels for normally preventing the advancement of the fender body and automatically movable to inoperative position upon the lowering of the fender body.

6. A fender having a fender body normally supported in Vinoperative position, trip mechanism for releasing said fender body, a lock for preventing the operation of said trip mechanism, said lock being automatically moved to inoperative position upon the starting of the vehicle carrying said fender.

7. A fender having a. body normally supported in inoperative position, trip mechanism for releasing said fender body, a locking member forpreventing the operation of said trip mechanism, said locking member comprising a weighted pivoted lever adapted to be automatically displaced from locking position upon the jarring or starting of the vehicle carrying said fender.

8. A fender having a roller, a curtain wound thereon, and means for first lowering the free edge of said curtain substantially vertically to the ground and then advancing it to further unwrap the curtain from said roller.

9. A fender having a supporting roller, a flexible curtain thereon, a` frame pivotally supported at one end and connected to the free edge of said curtain at the opposite end, said frame including telescoping tube secict tions, means for releasing said frame to permit the end connected to said curtain to drop to the ground, means tending to extend said frame and advance the free edge of said curtain, and means for releasing said last mentioned means after said free edge has been lowered a predetermined distance.

10. A fender including depending hangers adapted to be secured to the car body, a roller supported by said hangers, a curtain wound on'said roller, a shoe connected with the free edge of said curtain and normallyT supported in' an elevated position, an eXtensible frame connected to said shoe, trip mechanism for releasing saidshoe and permitting it to drop toward the ground in a substantially vertical direction and trip mechanism for permitting the extension of said frame tion, means normally tending to force said fender body forwardly, means for normally preventing said forward movement, and means for automatically disengaging said last mentioned means after a predetermined .lowering movement of the fender body.

In testimonyl whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK E. I-IUTCI-IINGS.

Witnesses:

HAROLD AYERS, C. W. FAIRBANKS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenta- Washington, ID. C. 

